Lewis Hamilton F1 2013

After his maiden F1 Drivers Championship in 2008, Britain's Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been back on top of the sport since. In fairly understated and somewhat controversial seasons since with the McLaren team, in the four seasons following his tremendous title, he has not finished higher than fourth. Regarded as one of the more aggressive drivers in the sport at the moment, and one who has never been afraid to push the line and take chances in overtaking maneuvers when perhaps others would have backed off, sometimes Hamilton has been the master of his own destruction. However, he has always had the backing of the McLaren team, even if it wouldn’t be said publicly, as first driver. The 2013 F1 season though will see Lewis Hamilton perhaps even further away from another world title than perhaps he should be in his career.

In the 2012 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton was his usual patchy self. He was either blistering with pace or just not at the races at all. He did take four wins for the season though, along with six Pole Positions. Although it was the lowest points return for him for three season, it was actually a marked improvement in his overall season standings.That was his most Grands Prix wins in a single season since his title winning year of 2005. Hamilton in his McLaren finished fourth last season and has come under fire for walking away from the team which really put him on the map. So now he will face challenges anew at Mercedes, but being such a maverick driver, you never really know what you are going to get from Hamilton. The biggest question over his success this season will be the reliability of the Mercedes, and how quickly he can aid development.

So what of the projections for the 2013 F1 season for Lewis Hamilton betting? Let’s look at his race results for the past five season. Only once has he finished with fewer than three wins in a season (back in 2009) and therefore it is viable that we will see him on top of a podium at some point. It is unlikely that he is going to get multiple wins during 2013 and the hints are that even getting a couple on the board will be tough. The Mercedes still needs a lot of development, and in professional circles, Hamilton's chances of winning his second world title are being written off. The bookies are tending to agree with that, because before a tire was laid down rubber in anger for the 2013 season, Hamilton was out as far as a distant price of 20/1 to land the 2013 F1 Drivers Championship.

If he couldn’t do it in the McLaren over the past few season, it’s improbable that he’ll do it out of the gate in the Mercedes. So where to look for any victories that Hamilton may get under his belt in 2013? He has taken multiple wins at the Chinese Grand Prix, at Monaco, Germany, Hungary and the USA. While he has of course won other races around the world, it will probably be best tracking him strongest at circuits where he has performed well on more than a couple of occasions. From that list, he won in both Hungary and the USA last season, so they are probably good shots for him. A top three finish for the season for Hamilton is being offered at a general 4/1 and at 4/6 for him to book himself a top six finish in the Drivers Championship in 2013. There could be a big uphill season ahead of the British driver.